Water game.



T. F. GRAHAM.

WATER GAME.

APPLICATION FILED on. 4, 1915.

1,281,251., Patented June 26, 1917.

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T; F. GRAHAM.

WATER GAME.

APPLICATION HLED 0014. 1915.

Patented June 26, 1917.

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WATER GAME.

APPLICATION FlLED OCT. 4. I915.

Patented June 26, 1917.

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THOMAS F. GRAHAM, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

WATER GAME.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 26, 19171.

Application filed October 4, 1915. Serial No. 54,095.

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known thatI, THOMAS F. GRAHAM, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the city of Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in a ater Game; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the numerals of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to a water amusement game to be played either on land or water, and consistsof a plurality of stations arranged on a field or court in parallel lines, each station equipped with nozzle hose connections supplied with water from a main pipe. Each of said stations is manned with a player who operates the nozzle hose for the purpose of applying a jet of water upon a ball placed on the court. The object of the game is to Inovethe ball about the field with the purpose of forcing the same be tween a pair of goal posts positioned at each end of the court, for scoring purposes.

It is an object of this invention to pro vide a construction for a water game in which adjustable fluid discharge nozzles are provided at different points around a court for the purpose of impelling a missile be;

tween goal postsby jets issuing from said nozzles.

It is also an object of this invention to provide a construction for a, water game comprising a plurality of hose connections supplied with water from a main line, said water being directed in jets against a ball to cause the same to float between goal posts.

It is also an object of this invention to construct apparatus for a water game consisting of a plurality of floating stations each provided with a rotatably mounted nozzle adapted to directa stream of water upon a ball to impel the same across a goal line.

It is furthermore an object of this inventi on to construct apparatus for a water game consisting of atank having .a plurality of floating stations, each provided with a manually operatable nozzle for turning a stream of water upon a float to move said float along within the tank to a goal at either end thereof.

It is finally an object of this invention to construct an apparatus for a water game consisting of a bounded. area in which a plurality of hose and nozzle connections are movably mounted for the purpose of directing a fluid upon a movable element to impel the same toward goals situated at both ends of said area.

The invention (in a preferred form) is illustrated in the drawings and hereinafter more fully described.

On the drawings: I

Figure 1 is a conventional top plan view of a device embodying the principles of my invention.

Fig. 2 is a sectional view thereof taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view of a modified form of the device adapted foruse with a tank or body of water.

Fig. 4 is a conventional top plan view of another modified form of my device.

Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken on line 55 of Fig. 41.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary detail sectional view taken on line 6-G of Fig. l, with parts shown in elevation.

Fig. 7 is a conventional top plan view of a modified form of my device.

Fig. 8 is a side view thereof.

Fig. 9 is a detailed view of the pulley for supporting the ball.

s shown in the drawings:

Designated as a whole by the reference numeral 1, is a court or area bounded by a net or tape line 2, or any other suitable means adapted to limit the area of play, said court having a pair of posts 3, located at both of its ends inside of the boundary tape 2, to afford goals. Disposed below the surface of the court 1, and extending beyond the goals, are water mains at, suitably connected to end pipes 5, said connected pipes being supplied from a main feed pipe 6, having a controlling valve 7, mounted thereon in any suitable manner. Spaced from one another within the limits of the courtl, are a series of small stand pipes 8,.connected to pipes 4, and arranged on opposite sides of the court, and a single stand pipe 8, is also mounted at the middle of each of the end pipes 5. Said stand pipes 8, each have threaded on their upper ends a faucet connection represented as a whole by reference numeral 9. and comprising a base 10, cored out or drilled to provide a T-shaped passage 11, with openings at the bottom and on opposite sides, as clearly shown in Fig. 6. Integrally formed on the upper end of the base 10, is a screw-threaded extension 12, adapted to receive a washer 13, and a nut 14, thereover, for holding a movable body piece 15, attached on said base. Said body piece 15, is drilled to afford a passage 16, and secured to said body piece 15, by means of a coupling comprising a union 16, and a connector 16*, is a hose, 17 con.- nected with the inner end thereof positioned to communicate with either one of the side openings of the passage 11. For the purpose of directing a jet of fluid from the hose 17 a nozzle 18, is secured on the outer end thereof in any suitable manner, to permit the jet to 3 be directed against a ball or other missile 19, placed upon the court 1.

The sectional view shown in Fig. 3, illustrates a modified form of my device adapted.

for use with a tank 20, filled with water. Floating on the surface of the water are a plurality of floats or rafts 21, anchored to the bottom of the tank by means of a rope 22, and each raft provided with a faucet and nozzle connection 23, connected to a flexible hose 24, secured to a water main 25. The

arrangement of the water main, rafts and goals is similar to that shown in Fig. 1.

In the modification shown in Figs. 4 and 5, of the drawings, a court 26, is provided with a plurality of faucet connections 27, each equipped with a hose and nozzle 28. Said faucet connections are attached to water mains 29, by means of upright pipes 30, the arrangement of the court 26, being similar to that already described for Fig. 1. Extending along the middle of the court 26, practically from end to end thereof, is an alley or trough having a bottom 31, and sloping side boards 32, each of which has a goal post 33, secured thereon near each end thereof. For the purpose of playing the game, a ball 34, is placed within the trough in the field or range of the jets from the nozzles 28.

Figs. 7, 8 and 9, cover a further modification of my device, consisting of a court 35, having disposed below the surface thereof water mains 36, suitably connected to end pipes 37, said pipes supplied with water from a main feed pipe 38, connected to. one of said water mains 36, and having a con trolling valve 39, mounted thereon in any suitable manner. Disposed from one another at intervals upon said water mains 36, and at the center of th end pipes 37 are faucet connections 40, each equipped with a hose and nozzle 41, said hose of a length sufficient to permit a player operating the same to move about the court. i

Erected at each end of the court 36, at. a

point just outside of the end faucet connec tions 40, are posts 42, the tops of which are connected, by a wire 43, upon which is hung indicator cards 44, spaced at intervals from one n the a d a ing Pr t d on ea h side thereof numbers designatingscore points. Also connected to said posts 42, at a short distance below the wire 43, is a trolley wire45, upon which is movably mounted a pulley comprising a wheel 46, rotatably mounted ina block 47, having an eye-bolt 48, secured at the lower end thereof. A cord or rope 49, having one end thereof secured in the. eye-bolt 48, is suspended from the pulley with the lower end of said rope 49, securely tied to a ball 50, which is permitted to swing freely at any desired. distance below the trolley. To hold the wire 43, and the trolley wire 45, taut anchor wires 51, are provided and securedtofthe posts 42, and to the groundv in any suitable manner.

The operation is as follows:

To play the game the ball 19, isplaced in the. center. of the court 1, and a person is stationed at each one of the hose connections 9, so, as to adjust the same to defend a particular goal, and, of course, the valve 7, has been opened to admit water into. the pipes 4 and 5, under pressure. With the passage 16, connected'up with one of the side openings in the base 10, the flow of water through the hoseconnections 17, may be controlled by the person playing by adjusting. the nozzle, 18. At the proper signal each person in the game directs a stream of water 7 upon the ball '19, to endeavor to impel the same over the goal line of the opposing side, and, if desired, a person may direct the stream of waterupon that of his opponent to prevent the ball being impelled thereby. As shown by the dash circles in Fig. 1, each person playing the game is confined to an area of operation bounded by the circle and stepping outside of the circle constitutes a foul. The game is played until a certain agireed number. of points is scored by either si e.

In the modified form shown in Fig. 3, the game is played exactly the same except that the players are positioned upon the rafts or floats 21, the size of which, of course, limits each players field of movement.

lVith the arrangement shown in Fig. 4, the

game is played in a manner similar tothat already described with the exception that the ball 34, must be kept in the trough, the object being to move, the ball back and forth along the troughuntilit is forced beyond either. one of. the goal lines.

In the modificationshown in Figs. 7 8 and 9, the game is played in a manner simi lar. to that described above. In this modification, however, the area of play of the hose operators is not restricted to a definite territory, but the operator may move to any position permitted by the hose length. The object of this modification is to force the suspended ball along the trolleyvvire 45, beyond the respective cards 44, by which the score is counted, the numbers on the cards ing the greatest number of points in agiven time wins the game.

Of course, it is apparent that score lines may be laid out in any manner suitable for the purpose to bound the field of play and the scoring may be figured according to rules drawn up restricting the operations of the players to certain areas a violation of which would constitute a foul and a penalty.

I am aware that various details of construction may be varied through a wide range without departing from the principles of this invention, and I therefore do not purpose limiting the patent granted otherwise than necessitated by the prior art.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a device of the class described a court, a plurality of interconnected adjustable hose connections arranged thereabout, and a ball adapted to be moved about said court by jets of water issuing from said hose connections.

2. In a device of the class described a court, water supply pipes therebelow, hose connections attached thereto, two goal posts at each end of said court, and a ball adapted to be forced about said court by jets from said hose connections impinging upon the ball to force the same between two of said goal posts.

3. In a device of the class described a court, water pipes therebelow, hose connections thereon, means connecting said hose connections with said pipes, and 'a ball adapted to be forced about by streams of water issuing from said hose connections.

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4. In a water game of the class described a court, water pipes, a plurality of hose connections attached thereto extending above said court, goal posts at both ends thereof, and a ball between said goal posts to be acted upon by streams of Water from said hose connections to force the ball back and forth between said goal posts.

In a water game of the class described a court, pipe lines therebelow, a ball, and hydraulic means associated with said court and pipe lines adapted to impart motion to said ball.

6. In a water game of the class described a plurality of hose connections uniformly spaced with respect to one another, and means adapted to be moved about between said hose connections by streams of water issuing therefrom.

7. In a device of the class described interconnected power means, and a missile adapted to be moved about by streams of liquid issuing from said power means.

8. In a game of the class described a court, supply mains therebelow, a missile, and means movable with respect to said court and connected with said mains adapted to direct streams of liquid against said missile to move the same.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto subscribed my name in the presence of two subscribing Witnesses.

THOMAS F. GRAHAIW. Witnesses CHARLES W. HILLS, J12, EARL M. I-IARDINE.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents Washington, D. G. 

